Lord Patten told the BBC One show that Mr Entwistle left 'extremely honourably' and he didn’t try to ‘argue him out of it because I think he'd made his mind up’, adding that it was the ‘right decision’.

He said: 'I think he felt he should take responsibility for the awful journalism which disfigured that Newsnight programme. One of the ironies was that he was a brilliantly successful Newsnight editor.

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‘What undermined him were exactly those failings that he wanted to address. He's cerebral, decent, honourable and brave. I'm afraid this would have overwhelmed a lot of people with those sort of skills.

'I don’t want to hide behind what my job is supposed to be in that I think I have to ensure in the interest of the licence fee payer that the BBC has a grip and we get ourselves back onto the road.’

The director-general of the BBC
sensationally quit in the aftermath of the scandalous Newsnight report
smearing senior Tory Lord McAlpine over false child sex abuse claims.

'He (Mr Entwistle) was the unanimous choice of the trust - a terrific creative leader for the BBC. I'm sorry, it's one of the tragedies of life he was overwhelmed by this wretched crisis'

BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten

Mr Entwistle announced his resignation
12 hours after he was humiliated in a BBC interview by John Humphrys
over his handling of the issue.

It has been confirnmed that Entwistle will walk away with a full year's wages: £450,000.

Under the standard executive board contract, he would normally be entitled to just six months' salary.

The additional payment in the 'heads of terms' agreed yesterday was said to reflect his ongoing involvement in the various inquires which the BBC has established.

A BBC Trust spokesman said: 'The BBC reached a consensual termination agreement with George Entwistle last night and agreed to pay him 12 months pay, in lieu of notice.

'This reflects the fact that he will continue to help on BBC business, most specifically the two ongoing inquiries.'

The BBC's Norman Smith says it is understood the decision to give him a full year's salary was taken on Saturday night in order to reach a 'swift resolution to his departure'.

John Whittingdale, who chairs the Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee, said his 'immediate reaction' was that 'it cannot be justified'.

He said:'I think almost everybody hearing this news will say "how can somebody who has had to leave in these circumstances, as a result of a serious failure, nevertheless get a whole year's salary".'

Lord Patten said that he was aware of the fateful Newsnight probe after reading a tweet on the morning of November 2 from Iain Overton, of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, warning what was to come - and he did ask whether it had gone through the correct checks. Mr Entwistle was not aware of the report before it went on air.

Lord Patten said: 'I did subsequently ask whether the programme was being properly edited, properly managed and I was assured that it was.

Grim faced: Lord Patten (right) looked depressed as Mr Entwistle (left) made a statement in London last night

'We know from what George was saying
yesterday apparently the decision went up through every damned layer of
BBC management, bureaucracy and legal checks, and still emerged.'

'We know from what George was saying apparently the decision went up through every damned layer of BBC management, bureaucracy and legal checks, and still emerged'

BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten

Lord Patten added: 'At the heart of
our journalism in the BBC is good uncompromising investigative
journalism and Newsnight has been part of that tradition with Panorama
and others.

'We
certainly want to hold onto that but we want to make sure that it
doesn't make the sort of mistakes made by Newsnight. We want to make
sure that programmes are properly managed.

'Does the BBC need a thorough structural
radical overhaul? Absolutely it does. I would have still - given what I
knew then - have chosen with my 11 colleagues at the Trust, George
Entwistle.

'He was the unanimous choice of the
trust - a terrific creative leader for the BBC. I'm sorry, it's one of
the tragedies of life he was overwhelmed by this wretched crisis.'

Big job: Acting director general of the BBC Tim Davie, who was appointed following George Entwistle's resignation, arrives at New Broadcasting House in central London on Sunday

He also told Sky News: 'I think my job is to make sure that we now learn the lessons from the crisis.

CAROLINE THOMSON FAVOURITE TO REPLACE ENTWISTLE AS BBC CHIEF

Caroline Thomson is the favourite to become the new director general of the BBC, according to Ladbrokes.

Following George Entwistle's resignation the bookies are now quoting Thomson, the BBC's former chief operating officer, as the favourite to replace him at 5/2, followed closely by Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards at 3/1.

There is a 5/1 chance that Helen Boaden steps up from BBC's director of news or it is 8/1 that acting director general Tim Davie gets the gig on a full-time basis.

Ladbrokes' latest betting is as follows:

Caroline Thomson 5/2

Ed Richards 3/1

Helen Boaden 5/1

Tim Davie 8/1

Michael Jackson 8/1

Danny Cohen 9/1

Peter Fincham 10/1

'If I don’t do that and don’t restore huge confidence and trust in the BBC then I’m sure people will tell me to take my cards and clear off. But I will not take my marching orders from Mr Murdoch’s newspapers.'

In a dramatic statement at 9pm last
night, Mr Entwistle resigned following pressure from senior Government
sources and from within the BBC itself.

He said he was doing the
‘honourable thing’ by standing down from his £450,000-a-year job – just
seven weeks after taking it up.

In a statement delivered on the steps
of New Broadcasting House, he said: ‘In the light of the fact that the
director-general is also the editor-in-chief and ultimately responsible
for all content; and in the light of the unacceptable journalistic
standards of the Newsnight film broadcast on Friday November 2, I have
decided that the honourable thing to do is to step down from the post of
director-general.

'The wholly exceptional events of the past few weeks
have led me to conclude that the BBC should appoint a new leader.

‘To have been the director-general of
the BBC even for a short period, and in the most challenging of
circumstances, has been a great honour.

‘While there is understandable public
concern over a number of issues well covered in the media – which I’m
confident will be addressed by the review process – we must not lose
sight of the fact that the BBC is full of people of the greatest talent
and the highest integrity. That’s what will continue to make it the
finest broadcaster in the world.’

VIDEO: George Entwistle's resignation statement with Lord Patten

George Entwistle embarked on a crushing round of interviews in the wake of the Newsnight scandal, which included Sky, BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 and Radio Five Live

Steven Messham (left) accused a
senior Tory of repeatedly abusing him in the 1970s at a Welsh care home.
Lord McAlpine (right) has since been forced to issue an statement denying that he is the Tory

Mr Entwistle was interviewed live on BBC's Breakfast programme minutes after appearing on Radio 4's Today show

Lord Patten said Mr Entwistle had no choice but to go because of ‘shoddy journalism’ by the BBC.

BBC'S TEMPORARY CHIEF HAS NO BACKGROUND IN JOURNALISM

The man who has had the unenviable
task of leading the BBC through one of the worst crises in its history
thrust upon him has a rather different CV to his predecessor - one which
may help him in his sudden new role.

Tim Davie (right),
the director of BBC Audio and Music who was due to take over as the new
chief executive of BBC Worldwide next month, was appointed temporary
acting director of the entire organisation last night following George
Entwistle's unscheduled departure.

While
Mr Entwistle spent almost his entire career at the BBC, Mr Davie has no
background as a journalist, producer or broadcaster.

But
it is his previous career - as a brand manager and marketing executive -
that may well be the BBC's saviour in the short term and the reason
behind his appointment.

Mr
Davie began his career in the private sector. After reading English at
Cambridge University, he joined Procter and Gamble's marketing
department, becoming a brand manager in 1991.

He
joined the BBC from his post as marketing and franchise vice-president
for PepsiCo Europe, and from April 2005 was director of the BBC's
marketing, communications and audiences division.

He
became head of audio and music in September 2008, with overall
responsibility for BBC Radios 1, 2, 3, 4, and the BBC digital radio
stations 1Xtra, 6Music, 4Extra, and the Asian Network.

Mr
Davie also oversaw the three BBC orchestras in England, the BBC
Singers, and the BBC Proms, as well as classical music and performance
television, factual radio and radio drama production.

No
stranger to controversy at the BBC, he had to address prank calls made
by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand on Radio 2, and the decision to close
6Music, which was later reversed, was made under his leadership.

Married
with three young sons, Mr Davie is a member of the BBC's Executive
Board, a trustee of BBC Children in Need, and board member of Radio
Joint Audience Research - Rajar - the official body in charge of
measuring radio audiences in the UK.

Now,
while the BBC's governing body, the BBC Trust, begins the process of
agreeing on a permanent successor, he will have to bring his
considerable experience to bear in steering the corporation's listing
ship to calmer waters.

Standing alongside Mr Entwistle, the
grim-faced Tory peer said last night: ‘This is one of the saddest evenings of my
public life,’ adding that the BBC had failed in its role as a ‘trusted
global news organisation.’

Lord Patten left little doubt that Mr
Entwistle had no choice but to step down. He said: ‘George has very
honourably offered his resignation because of the unacceptable mistakes
and unacceptably shoddy journalism which has caused so much
controversy.’

He added pointedly: ‘It’s a real
tragedy that he was overwhelmed, as we all were, before he was able to
act in way that was clearly necessary.’

Last night, John Humphrys said he was shocked to hear of George Entwistle’s resignation.

The BBC Radio 4 presenter said: ‘I don’t really want to make any comment at this stage. Everything is too difficult.’

Mr Entwistle’s position crumbled after
a humiliating grilling by Mr Humphrys yesterday, during which he
admitted he had not watched the original film and had been oblivious to
widespread doubts about its credibility until just before Friday night’s
abject on-air apology.

Lord Patten defended Mr Humphrys's interview earlier today, saying: 'You don't go on an interview with John Humphrys and expect the bowling to be slow full tosses.'

Mr Entwistle’s resignation could prompt a
bloodbath at the Corporation after sources at the highest level of
Government told The Mail on Sunday they believed the positions of
several other BBC executives were also untenable.

They are: head of news, Helen Boaden;
Newsnight editor Peter Rippon, who vetoed an exposé of Jimmy Savile; and
controller of Radio 5 Live Adrian van Klaveren, who was the executive
overseeing Newsnight when the McAlpine programme aired.

A senior Government source said: ‘Boaden and Rippon are equally culpable and other heads may have to roll.’

BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine tweeted:
‘George #Entwistle was my editor on Newsnight in 2000 and even if this
is the right decision, he is a person of huge integrity &
intelligence.’

The BBC was forced to apologise to
Lord McAlpine, a friend and ally of Margaret Thatcher, after claims made
by BBC 2’s current affairs flagship concerning a paedophile ring at
children’s homes in North Wales in the Seventies.

As a result of the programme, Lord
McAlpine was wrongly named on the internet as the Tory politician
referred to, but not directly named, by Newsnight. He has vowed to sue
for libel over the film.

As from today, the acting
director-general will be Tim Davie, the Corporation’s current director
of audio and music who is due to take the reins of the BBC’s commercial
arm, BBC Worldwide, from December 1.

Steve Hewlett, presenter of BBC Radio
4's The Media Show, said Mr Entwistle did not have a 'grip' on the
crisis and was not a 'man in control'.

Culture Secretary Maria Miller welcomed the resignation, calling it 'regrettable but the right decision'.

Grilling: Veteran BBC presenter John Humphrys laid into his own boss live on Radio 4's Today programme

Nightmare: Bryn Estyn in Wrexham, where a number of children were abused and raped. Peter Howarth, the former Deputy Head of the home was jailed in 1994 for ten years of abusing boys

She said: 'It is vital that credibility and public trust in this important national institution is restored.

'MAJORITY OF STAFF HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS': PATTEN'S LETTER

In a letter to BBC staff, Lord Patten said that he still believed the corporation was the greatest broadcaster in the world.

‘The vast majority of BBC staff have nothing whatsoever to do with this sorry episode and I regret that they are having to share in the pain,’ he said.

‘The priority now is to address the very serious questions that still remain around the original decision not to pursue the initial Newsnight investigation, how last week's story went so horribly wrong and, most importantly, how the BBC's historic culture and behaviour allowed Jimmy Savile to get away with his vile criminal activity for so long.’

'It is now crucial that the BBC puts
the systems in place to ensure it can make first-class news and current
affairs programmes.'

Former Tory Minister David Mellor said
of Mr Entwistle yesterday: ‘He came across as so out of touch, it made me think
Winnie the Pooh would have been more effective.’

He told BBC One's Sunday Politics today: 'We saw in 20 minutes the strengths and weaknesses of the BBC.'

Mr Mellor added: 'A fantastic interview by John Humphrys - and a man sort of shaking and shuddering in the limelight, who plainly was fine rising without trace in the BBC and not meeting too many people outside.

'But as someone who could command confidence more widely in his leadership abilities, Entwistle never did that in any one of his 54 days in office, so he had to go. Now the question is - should he have been appointed in the first place? Are they going to get it wrong again?'

Mr Mellor added that Lord Patten is so 'tainted by this nonsense' that he should consider resigning.

'Right decision': Home Secretary Theresa May (right) appeared on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show

Mr Entwistle said Newsnight, presented by Jeremy Paxman, won't be dropped because of the scandal

He added: 'How is someone supposed to be
chief executive of an organisation of the size and scale of the BBC in a
new and rapidly changing context - and be editorally responsible at the
top of the pinnacle?'

'How is someone supposed to be chief executive of an organisation of the size and scale of the BBC in a new and rapidly changing context - and be editorally responsible at the top of the pinnacle?'

Jonathan Dimbleby, BBC Radio 4 presenter

Catherine Mayer, Europe editor of Time, added on the show: 'The BBC expanded hugely in order to try and keep across all the different developments going on around it and it's a bit confused about what it's there for. It's very noticeable that the last three crises have all been around news programming.'

Home Secretary Theresa May told the programme: 'I think it was the right decision that George Entwistle took last night. There is an issue of rebuilding trust and credibility into the BBC.

'At the core of the Newsnight piece on North Wales is a question about quality of journalism, and of course that goes to the heart of what the BBC is about.'

Comments: Deputy Labour Party leader Harriet Harman (right) told Andrew Neil (left) on BBC One's Sunday Politics: 'Everybody's got a part of the responsibility, but George Entwistle has resigned'

But Labour MP Diane Abbott said on Twitter: 'Too many Tories like Theresa May using Entwistle resignation to make generalised attack on BBC journalism.'

'There are clearly systemic problems that possibly George Entwistle was trying to deal with, but what we don't need is more instability'

Harriet Harman, Deputy Labour leader

Deputy Labour Party leader Harriet Harman told Andrew Neil on BBC One's Sunday Politics: 'Everybody's got a part of the responsibility, but George Entwistle has resigned.

'Now there needs to be a period of stability and rebuilding. There are clearly systemic problems that possibly George Entwistle was trying to deal with, but what we don't need is more instability.

She added that Lord Patten should stay because he has got 'an important job to do'. 'We must not allow the next victim of this debacle to be the independence of the BBC,' Mrs Harman said.

Former Today programme editor Kevin Marsh told the programme: 'I think Newsnight survives, but I think it might well survive in a different form.

'I suspect one of the conclusions that the BBC will draw from this is that investigation has got to be pulled together under a single umbrella, a centre of excellence, that then farms its investigations out.'

REJECTED BY TWO GRADUATE SCHEMES: ENTWISTLE'S HISTORY AT BBC

The former director of BBC Vision, who launched The Culture Show and edited Newsnight, was rejected by two BBC graduate training schemes before finally getting a foot in the door.

He told the Radio magazine that he had been fascinated by culture and international politics from a young age, saying: 'I would go to my bedroom and listen to Kaleidoscope and The World Tonight.

'I think my parents thought it was a bit strange. But these programmes laid a foundation...'

He added: "There has barely been a morning - with the exception of holidays - since I was aware of what was going on in the world, that I haven't listened to the Today programme.'

In his first full day running Newsnight the 9/11 terror attacks took place. 'It's awful, in these tragic human events journalists can't quite get the excitement out of their voice about how it felt,' he said.

VIDEO: John Humphrys grills George Entwistle on BBC Radio 4's Today programme